How not to woe doctors . . .

The new minister of health for the government of South Sudan is a man with a mission. After inheriting the ministry he set about making changes and getting things moving again in the South. For instance, GOSS has taken over the running of the three major hospitals in Juba, Wau and malakal from the states. Big move, but we wait whether they can mange them well.

A bigger move is to woe the Southern doctors in Khartoum. To that end the good minister had a meeting with them in the Friendship Hall in Khartoum on Friday 11th October. The meeting went well, I heard, but what is the outcome? How will you convince them to come back home?

It seems a lot is at stake apart from the problems common to all. How do you care for the medics, provide for their work, doctors mess, especially female messes are no-existant in the whole of South Sudan. The inra-structure is unavailable. The minister wants all to come bck and start rebuilding from scratch together. Will they take his call?

The best part is that reference to the Khartoumers as Jallaba has been talked about.

But the truth is there are elements in the ministry who doesn’t want others to join them in the South, by frustrating efforts to return. Some doctors have waited for jobs in Juba for months before abandoning the effort to return to Khartoum.

 Am I wrong in avoiding all these by going private?

Normeca replies . . .

Here is a reply fromNormeca AS about my previous comment. Am glad they noticed these pages! 

Normeca AS is a Norwegian company working in the field of mobile and semi permanente hospitals, mobile clinics, floating hospital, disasters and hospital management. Normeca AS has several offices in Middle East and Africa like Dubai, Addis, Nairobi, Kapoeta, Juba and Khartoum plus offices in Tokyo, Bangkok, Copenhagen, Oslo (HQ) and Seattle.

Last year Normeca AS signed a contract with GOSS to build 10 State hospitals including accommodation for the medical staff, all together 2.500 beds, delivery of 50 mobile clinics and two floating hospitals on the river Nile. It was at same time signed a management contract to run all the hospitals and clinics for 5 years.

The first 150 beds hospital in Kapoeta has already treaded more than 12.000 patients. Many lives have been saved. The official opening of the hospital is expected to take place very soon.

And the hospital is approved by a technical committee from Ministry of Health in Juba as a referral hospital on level one.

Normeca AS has brought in more than 4.000 tons of equipment by road from Mombassa, a distance of 1.600 km one way to this first hospital. The ground of the site is 90.000 m2 with close to 8.000 m2 with different buildings. Normeca AS has also build a new road on 3 km from the main road to the hospital site. The hospital is one of the best equipped hospitals in Central Africa, please see the attachment. Especially the six operating theatres, ICU, Post OP, x-ray, laboratory, sterilization, delivery room and emergency room are very well equipped. As an example can be mention our x-ray department has fixed digital x-ray equipment, one mobile x-ray, C-bow in the operating theatre and three Ultrasound machines.

The price of this first hospital with 150 beds (can easily bee raised up to 200 beds) and 160 beds accommodation for hospital staff including transport, construction, all equipment both medical and all other necessary equipment to run the hospital is only EURO 18 million including five mobile clinics. These include also electronic patient journal system, computers, printers, identification card system and a server with 400 G memory.

The price for the complete hospital is actually very cost and time effective compare to build a hospital in concrete and steel. Normeca AS expect a life time on at least 30 to 50 years for this kind of prefabricated buildings. And the best of all, then the time is coming for a fixed hospital in steel and concrete, the hospital can be repacked and eject in ten smaller clinics/health centres around the State within short time.

The separate management contract to run the hospital has a budget on approximately EURO 4 – 500.000 pr. months all included like salaries, food, fuel, medical disposables and management like head doctor, head nurse, hospital director and trainers from Scandinavia. Normeca AS has to run the procurement after same rules as the Norwegian Government. The salaries for all staff have to follow the rules from GOSS. The hospital is working in close cooperation with WFP (delivery of all food to the patients) and the Carter Foundation.

It is not correct that some newspaper has been written that Normeca AS should have received more that USD 900 million in up front payment. All contracts together including the budget of running the all hospitals, clinics and floating hospitals for five years including salaries for up to 2.500 hospital staff, medicines, diesel/fuel, maintenance, medical disposables and all other things are even not so much. Normeca AS has so fare only received EURO 22 million in mobilisation payment from GOSS.

Normeca AS has also used up to 80 % of all workers during the construction from Kapoeta and Southern Sudan. It means more than 300 local workers have been working at the site every day for many months. Many of them have been trained as carpenters, maintenance, electric, plumbers and so on during this period. The rest of the workers have been brought in from 15 different countries around the world.

If anyone want more information, please do not hesitate to contact us any time.